Even The Best Fall Down Sometimes: Cork & Kerry Gets Busted For COVID Violations

WGN - Inspectors ordered Cork & Kerry to close over the weekend, citing the business for violations of new rules put into place during the latest phase of the pandemic.

After new rules were introduced that allowed the bar to close at midnight, their owner says inspectors were back this past Friday evening into Saturday morning.

Just after midnight, according to the city, inspectors found, “violations of the health department’s orders including employees not wearing face coverings, and operating outside of permitted business hours.”

The bar was shut down by the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Sunday afternoon.

Cork & Kerry is now working with the city on a new safety plan, which needs to be approved by the liquor commission, and they hope to reopen by the end of this week.  

This may not seem like a big deal to outsiders because of the chance Cork can rebound and open by the end of the week. But for now let me be clear that there's a massive hole on Western avenue with their doors shuttered. Even if it's 3 days or 3 hours or just long enough to upset the bar staff. Coming after Cork & Kerry is arguably as sac-religious to the community as simultaneously closing St. John Fisher and St. Barnabas. 

Those are churches. 

Cork is similar in that it's kinda like a place of worship with multi-generational patrons regularly visiting each weekend, from young families to old couples to single men searching for the straight & narrow path. They tithe a good chunk of the paycheck to rehab the (beer) garden and keep the electric bill down. It's that kinda place so I'm definitely not being dramatic when I say a majority of the locals would trade Sunday Sermons for Saturday Night Service without hesitation. 

That's why this is such an all time Sandbag move for me. All the shit we got going on in this city and we send multiple salaried-employees down to Beverly to shake down a legendary watering hole. I mean I'm all for sending a message and living within Law & Order but let's use common sense fellas. The CCL Blue football season is on the doorstep of getting cancelled and we're going to need all the cold domestics we can get on the south side when that happens. 

PS - Heard the city was looking at Brewbakers but they got scared when the Rita guys showed up. Always good to have some Rita guys around.